Satellite Beach, FL — Two teenagers were injured in a personal watercraft accident in Satellite Beach, Florida, on Sunday, January 4, 2015. The accident took place at a dock on the Banana River, around 2:00 in the afternoon.
Stephen Schwarz, who workers as an Air Force rescue workers, heard the accident occur. He told local news sources that he ran outside to find a 19-year old man lying unconscious on the dock, and a 19-year old woman face-down in the water. The watercraft they were both riding was half-destroyed and wedged beneath the dock.
The names of the victims have not been released. Schwarz jumped in the water and rescued the woman. Paramedics rushed both victims to Holmes Regional Medical Center. Medical officials have said that both victims had to undergo surgery following the accident. There’s been no information released on their current conditions.
The investigation into what caused the accident is underway. Officials believe that the watercraft’s throttle may have been stuck, which caused the accident to happen.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
If we’re being perfectly honest here, accidents like this are caused because riders just aren’t being as safe as they should have been. It’s unfortunate, but it happens all the time. However, reports point out one difference between accidents like that and this accident: Investigators believe that a stuck throttle may have caused the crash. If that’s the case, it opens up a couple of different avenues that need to be explored. One of those is that this is a manufacturer defect. If that’s the case, the manufacturer may be held liable for the accident. The second possibility that should be looked at is whether or not this was caused because of some work a repair shop may have done to the watercraft. If that turns out to be the case, we get the same outcome: They may be held liable for the accident. I think some people may be eager to write off an accident like this and say it was caused because of user error. And again, those accidents happen and they happen often. But when you’re dealing with an accident this severe, you never want to leave any stone unturned. If this defect was caused because of something the manufacturer did, then the should be held responsible for that. Fortunately, both victims here survived. This easily could have turned out much, much worse.
— Grossman Law Offices
